Streams of Stories

"Once I was seven years old"
sings the song on the radio
as I travel down streets
I really truly did used to know.

In this world, so many pathways paved
with dreams I left behind -
Each one grander than the last
and some more cruel than kind.

I imagine that little girl
twirling gracefully in her tutu.
Spinning tales that always ended with
you can do whatever you want to.

I smile warmly at her little face
not yet acquainted with my fears -
Dreaming big and smiling wide
across the long, hard years.

She still spins in me,
she turns and leaps,
this joyful little child -
And on some nights I turn her up
and answer her call to join the wild.

'I know you're scared of what's to come,'
she whispers in my ear.
'But come along, we'll laugh and play,
and to hell with all your fear.'

And that's the trick -
my friend, my love -
when the road has let you down -
tell yourself to dream big and smile wide
and let your inner child abound.